N.C. Zoo connector back on the map

Friday

ASHEBORO — Mary Joan Pugh, Randolph County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) vice chair, gave the board good news Wednesday on a proposed zoo connector road from the new U.S. 64 Bypass.

ASHEBORO — Mary Joan Pugh, Randolph County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) vice chair, gave the board good news Wednesday on a proposed zoo connector road from the new U.S. 64 Bypass.

The connector is back on the map.

Pugh, who is also the N.C. Zoo chief of staff and business officer, told the board the plans are just in the rough draft stage, but zoo officials are assured by N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) that the project has been given the green light.

Referencing the latest map for a proposed U.S. 64 Bypass south of Asheboro, Pugh said developers will eliminate an interchange that would have let drivers get on and off at N.C. 159. She said, as currently conceived, a zoo interchange will be added just below the former N.C. 159 exchange.

The exchange will take visitors to the entrance of the N.C. Zoo where a roundabout has been added to the proposed plan that would let visitors enter the zoo, drive north to Asheboro or head back to the bypass.

No firm plans have been drawn at this time. The nuances of this plan are subject to change, said James Speer, NCDOT Project Engineer-Roadway Design Unit in Raleigh.

Like many major road projects in Randolph County, the U.S. 64 Bypass has been long talked about and a long time coming. According to the NCDOT website, the new bypass will be a four-lane, controlled-access (no driveways) highway and is 13.7 miles in length. The opposite directions of travel will be separated by a grassy/landscaped median. Aside from the zoo interchanges, others now include interchanges at both ends of the project on U.S. 64, and at N.C. 49, I-73/74 (U.S. 220 Bypass) and N.C. 42. The estimated cost of the project is $369,635,000.

NCDOT officials said the project is needed for many reasons. Existing and future traffic congestion along U.S. 64 causes significant travel delays and contributes substantially to the inefficient operation of motor vehicles. Jeff Loflin, NCDOT district engineer in Randolph County, said the accident rate on U.S. 64 in the Asheboro area is above the statewide average and among the worst in the state.

Traffic is a problem on Zoo Parkway (N.C. 159) as well, due to local traffic mixing with traffic destined for the zoo. Delays are experienced by zoo visitors and zoo-related congestion makes it difficult for residents along Zoo Parkway to access their homes. Officials also believe the U.S. 64 Bypass is essential to improved traffic flow from Statesville to Raleigh on U.S. 64 and from Charlotte to Raleigh on N.C. 49 and U.S. 64.

The anxiety of supporters of the zoo connector is tied to House Bill 817. The bill, passed this year, contains among other items a strategic mobility formula. Under the formula, funding for projects after July 15, 2015, will be data driven, Loflin said. If a project is not seen as creating jobs or improving mobility, it will not get funded.

Pugh acknowledged Wednesday that the zoo connector would never generate the kind of traffic that would qualify it for acceptance under the new formula, even if it helps the zoo reach its goal of 1 million visitors a year. But she likes the new proposed plan.

“I think this is a great solution,” she said, adding it can even save the state money.

Eliminating the interchange at N.C. 159 is expected to save the state $50 million in construction costs. Speer said the change should also make property owners in the area happy. Many were upset at the prospect of losing family land to the bypass project.

Bids for the project are scheduled to be let by mid-August 2014. The design will be completed roughly six to nine months later. The state will begin purchasing right-of-ways by spring or summer 2015.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.